Arkansas voters to decide on casinos ballot in November

The Arkansas Secretary of State’s office announced that pro-casino lobby group Driving Arkansas Forward (DAF) had obtained 99,988 valid signatures on a ballot petition, exceeding the 84,589 signatures required for the casino question to appear on this November’s election ballot.

The referendum will include authorisation to develop one new casino in each of Jefferson and Pope counties. It would also allow slots-only casinos at the Oaklawn and Southland racetracks to add live table games and sports betting.

DAF is largely driven by two Oklahoma Indian tribal groups, the Quapaw tribe’s Downstream Development Authority and the Cherokee Nation Businesses LLC. These two groups provided the overwhelming bulk of the $2.3m that DAF raised to fund its casino ballot quest.

Two years ago, a similar casino referendum was set to be included in an election ballot but was pulled just weeks ahead of the vote. Back then, the Supreme Court noticed it would have authorised sports betting should it pass, which would’ve gone against the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA), struck down in May.